Your favorite columns on bosses, breaks, firings and pay

I'm so grateful to you, my readers, for asking me questions, sharing
your comments, and reading my columns every week. I'm taking a break for
the holidays, so I thought I'd share with you the columns that you
checked out the most in 2014. Here's a recap of the columns covering the
employment law issues that concerned you the most this year:

ObamaCare

1. The Little-Known ObamaCare Catch-22:
You are concerned and confused about the Affordable Care Act, better
known as ObamaCare, because every time I wrote about it, you read it.
This column was about a concern I had about a gap in the ability to
elect COBRA and the Affordable Care Act. It affected everyone who lost
their job outside an open enrollment period. You spoke up and we got a
partial fix, but the gap is still there.

12. ObamaCare, Handbooks, Benefits And More:
Your End-Of-Year Career Checklist: You've clearly been paying attention
and want to make sure you're ready for 2015, because many of you have
read this column already. If you want to have a great 2015, career-wise,
here's your checklist.

5 tips to nail your career in 2015

I've been thinking about what resolutions I should make for the new
year, and, as usual, I can list many things: get healthier, become
better organized, write a book (or three), and on and on and on...
Basically, pretty much the same things every year. And every year, like
most resolution-makers, I usually fail/forget before January 7.

So, I'm trying to find a better way to implement necessary self-improvement for 2015, and I think I found it.

Instead of a new year's resolution, set a new year's goal for your career in 2015!

What do you most want to accomplish in your career? If you are
unemployed, you probably want a good job. If you are employed, you may
want a better job - more money, a nicer boss, better working conditions.
All are worthy and attainable goals, but they seldom happen
automatically without planning and effort!

Here are some possible goals for 2015:

1. Figure out what you want next in your career.
Knowing what you want next is a major accomplishment and a very worthy
goal! It is the basis of everything - from your career path to choosing
your next employer or earning a certification or degree. When it comes
to something as important as your career, take time to do some thinking
and reflection. Read the classic career book "What Color Is Your Parachute?" If
your library has only one book about careers, this is the one - for
good reason. Be sure to do all the exercises in the book. Like millions
of others, you'll find them very helpful.

After you've read Parachute, spend at least an hour, maybe two
or more hours (you're worth it!), figuring out where you want to be in
the future. That old saying about "not being able to see the forest for
the trees" is about being buried too deeply in life's daily details to
see "the big picture." Reading Parachute and then taking the
time to think about your career is a very good way to see what is really
going on, what your big picture is - or what you want it to be in the
future.

If you finish this goal early in the year, you can add another goal (or two! See below)!

2. Create a list of your ideal next employers.
If you know what you want to do next (and even if you don't know),
explore the employment options available to you. What are your selection
criteria - location, industry, size, or something else? Think about
where you and friends and family have been happiest working. Or, where
you think you would have the best possibility of future growth. Research
your options online. MapQuest and Google Maps are two great ways to identify employers.

3. Expand your professional network so that you will have more options in your next job search.
This may mean bringing your LinkedIn profile up to the 500+ connections
level and becoming more active in LinkedIn groups related to your job
and career goals. Outside of LinkedIn, consider joining a national
association related to your profession (or your target profession).
Employee referrals are employers' favorite method of filling jobs - you
are five times more likely to be hired if you are referred by an employee than if you simply submit a resume or application.

4. Become more active in the local community to expand your local network.
To meet more people in your community, join the local chapter of a
professional or industry association related to your career goals or
volunteer for a non-profit in an appropriate role (like being an officer
in the parents' organization for your kids' school). You could also go
to your high school or college reunion. I met many interesting and
influential people helping my PBS station with their annual
fund-raising.

5. Learn something new that will help you in your career.
Perhaps you have a gap in your knowledge or the requirements for your
next step up the career ladder or the salary scale. Make your goal for
this year to - at a minimum - get started meeting that requirement. If
possible, meet that requirement. Perhaps the goal is learning one skill:
improving your understanding of effective email marketing, getting a
law degree, or creating beautiful watercolor landscapes. Once you have
learned that skill, use it as much as possible, inside your job or
outside of it in your personal life or networking activities, to gain
experience and confidence.

What are your goals for 2015?

The list above represents only a few possible goals for your career in
2015. Think about how you would like to be positioned for 2016, and
create your own goal if none of the examples above work for you. Then,
set your goal(s) for 2015, and go for it! Or, you'll be in the same spot
next year that you are now.

Holidays can mean humbug at the office. Tell Jack your troubles.

I've got a work-related question. I spent 6 hours baking for an event at work. What's wrong with me?

I don't know that there's necessarily anything wrong with
you, Kate (though perhaps you should be in a baking-related profession).
The holidays mean spending entirely too much time -- personal and
business -- on festive office events: baking, Secret Santa shopping,
standing around with a plastic cup pretending to be "merry,"
etc. I imagine you are someone who really throws yourself into projects
(i.e. not satisfied picking up a package of Oreos on your way into work
and calling it a day), so that only compounds matters. My only advice:
multi-tasking. Bake one big batch that can be used for the office party,
your idiot neighbor's holiday open house, and don't forget to keep some
for your own family. Same goes for shopping trips. And don't worry,
it'll be miserable January before you know it.

Meanwhile, Elyse says:

'Tis the season when people at my job are always offering me food and
I have to explain that unless I know the ingredients I can't eat it due
to my allergy. This is always followed by them continuing to force the
food on me, then acting offended that I won't eat it. So even when I say
I could DIE they make it all about them! What else can I do?

Look, I know Kate is pretty sensitive, but she'll get over it.
There's definitely some weird psychological mojo attached to homemade
food. It's not just some ingredients that were stirred together and put
in the oven, it's a treasured family recipe and the kitchen was the only
time I ever really truly connected with grandma and I am
offering you my SOUL and you dare refuse it, you animal?!?! Plus, there
may be some pent-up frustration out there about the vegan, gluten-free,
lactose-intolerant, low-sodium, free-range, anti-GMO world we now live
in. Can you fake a big ol' smile, Elyse? Just pleasantly explain that it
LOOKS absolutely delicious and you WISH you could eat it but the last
time you accidentally ate the wrong thing, you ended up in the HOSPITAL.
That last bit may not technically be true, but it gets the point
across: This is a serious allergy. Which reminds me, 'tis also the
season for open enrollment.

Do you have a work-related question for Jack? Write it in the
comments below (better answers to this week's questions are also
welcome!) or tweet it @AOLJobs with the hashtag #AskJack.

Jack's Job of the Week

Kate, I found you a job. As long as you're baking for six hours, you might as well get paid for it. So how about being a baker in Dallas, Texas? Or if want to find another way to make some dough, do your own search on AOL Jobs right now. Butcher, candlestick maker, and thousands of other great job listings!

Gossip, rumor-mongering, and catty behavior know no gender

I chose a career in finance for a number of reasons. I liked the classes
in college, I wanted a challenging career, I wanted to make money.
However, more than anything, I was interested in pursuing a career that
was not filled with women. This fact is surprising to many; however,
those that know me know that after growing up with five sisters and
attending an all-female Catholic high school, I was ready to leave the
drama of cattiness, gossip, hormones and cliques behind. Before I
started working, I glorified the world of finance as being removed from
drama. After all, I argued to myself that the lack of estrogen was bound
to make for a smoother work environment.

It took about two weeks on the trading floor of a large investment bank
for me to come to the realization that men gossip as much as any woman I
know.

Typically after a big deal closed, many would leave the office early to
celebrate over a few beers, and since I wanted to bond with my new
co-workers, I joined them for a few that led to many. The evening took a
turn for the bizarre when the group ended up at a strip club, and I had
no ride home. Thankfully, one of the guys from the floor offered to
drive me. Unfortunately, when he drove me home, he offered other things,
but took my rejection like a gentleman.

As I crawled into bed in the wee hours of the morning, I said a prayer
of thanks that I worked with men and would not be judged the next day in
the office. A few minutes after I took my seat on the floor, a teammate
asked me to step off the desk for a conversation, and he shared with me
the word that had spread around the floor about the evening before. I
stared at this friend in shock that word had traveled that fast--in a
matter of minutes, since most people arrived at 6:00, and it was now
6:30 in the morning.

Fortunately for me, my evening chauffeur did not make up stories and
told the truth--in fact, he shared the full story, including my
rejection of him. From that moment on, I began to view my male
co-workers in a completely different light. For the better part of my
life, I had always assumed that women were gossipers and that men could
not be bothered with sharing stories. However, I realized quickly that
men are just as bad--if not worse--than women when it comes to the
gossip department.

I would love to say that I learned my lesson about partying with
co-workers after that first incident. However, there were numerous other
times that I walked into work the next morning to a buzz about the
happenings of the night before. Finally, after a male co-worker shared
some intimate knowledge of a female teammate, I realized that I needed
to find more friends outside of work.

Women typically gossip in small groups of one or two close friends, and
usually stick with one person or one topic of conversation. From my
experience, men seem to gossip in large groups, around broad subject
matter. I have sat on a trading desk and heard men gossip about
everything from outfits that women wear to rumored hook-ups of
co-workers from a decade before--and the more outrageous the story, the
longer it seems to be discussed across the desk. Even after I left the
trading floor and worked for a smaller hedge fund, I found out that it
was the men in the group who spread information more than the women.

Looking back on my 14 years in the finance world, I feel that I have
heard and witnessed more gossip spread from men rather than women.
Perhaps it's just because women are better at keeping gossip
low-key--and I know that, working in finance, my perspective is skewed
since the majority of financial service professionals are male. However,
I have not heard gossip stories from other industries that rival mine.

I may be wrong in my assumption that men gossip more than women.
However, until someone convinces me otherwise, I will keep my friends
close and watch out for the men if I misbehave or have a few too many.

During a recent business leaders' conference in London, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide
CEO Kevin Roberts declared marketing dead, saying, "The further up in a
company you go, the stupider you become  and the further away from new
things."

While I agree with his latter sentiment, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics expects marketing payrolls to increase by at least 13 percent
between 2010 and 2020. Perhaps what Roberts meant to say is that the
old ways of marketing are dead, as evidenced by the dramatic shift in
skills desired from today's marketer. Recruiters are ditching mass media
and direct mail for candidates who are savvy in search-engine
optimization, analytics, mobile platforms, social media and content.

I asked more than 30 marketing and recruiting specialists what new
marketing job titles they expect will become popular in the next decade.
Here are five of the most common roles they named.

1. Crowdsourcing specialist"You
don't [market to today's customer] by just vomiting sales pitches on
them, you do it by listening to how the product has helped them," says
Josh King, director of business development at Peacock Virtual Solutions.
This role has two parts: listening and promoting. Companies can no
longer dictate their brand identity to the customer. To that end, the
crowdsourcing specialist would monitor conversations about the brand on
the Internet and develop messages that respond to customers'
expectations. On the promotion side, the crowdsourcing specialist would
send out calls to action, such as inviting customers to compete to
create the best video about the brand and perhaps tying the theme to
something trending on Twitter.

2. Vice president of marketing data analytics"Accountability
wasn't present [in marketing] before. It's required now, because we can
measure every aspect of a campaign," says Jennifer Pockell-Wilson, vice
president of marketing and demand operations at Demandbase.
"You can't judge success by return on investment on a specific campaign
anymore because traffic, brand awareness and consumers come from
multiple sources that interact together."
People in this job would decide when, why and how marketing data
should be tracked. This includes data collected through marketing
automation, website analytics, social media, email campaigns, mobile
platforms, SEO, content marketing and other channels. The goals: to
improve marketing performance and continually refine the company's
definition of the ideal customer. This information would be shared with
brand and campaign strategists who design promotions.

3. ROI and marketing budget officerMarketing
budgets are shifting from quarterly allotments for print, direct mail
and media advertising to constantly shifting spending from one channel
to another. Data about return on investment are often instantly
available -- from paid search ad spending, for example -- so marketing
can be more nimble with resource allocation. The budget officer would
track ROI from all promotion channels and adjust spending based on those
results.
"The idea is to get marketing tactics out there quickly, track
results, then continue with ones that work and dump ones that don't,"
says crowdSPRING co-founder Mike Samson. "The idea is to try a bunch of things and learn through constant trial and error."

4. Marketing integration planner"People
don't call directly in from an infomercial or click a banner and
immediately buy items," marketing consultant Jocelyn Saurini says. "They
search for reviews, they interact with brands, they pay attention to
trending topics."
People in this job would identify ways to deliver a single marketing
message, campaign or branding effort across multiple digital channels.
An example includes using a pay-per-click advertising campaign to
promote a viral video or using SEO keyword analysis to help craft a
press release. They might also use tools such as Demand Metric's Marketing Channel Ranking Tool to prioritize message delivery channels based on cost and other indicators.

5. Content marketing chief "The
people who are able to create a lot of value in the marketing
organization of the future think in terms of content, not channels, and
in terms of insight, not data," says Zach Clayton, CEO and founder of Three Ships Media.
People in this job would plan the development of websites, blogs,
videos, infographics, webinars, social media and other content vehicles.
The individual would decide how that content would be promoted and
cross-promoted, then track its performance. Finally, the content
marketing leader would look for externally created content about the
company on the Internet and find ways to use it for SEO and other
marketing purposes.

What's your take?It's doubtful that every
marketing department will need all of these positions. The point here is
to show the future of marketing through the most highly desired skills
and emerging job titles.
"All the top-down, brand-driven marketing disciplines aren't dead,
they just must be balanced now with the consumer-centric disciplines
that require brands to let go of the steering wheel and let the
consumers drive," says Tom Cotton, partner at marketing consultancy
Protagonist.

Don't knock the idea of a routine--or a bit of exercise

Whether you're a first-time job seeker or someone who's been looking and
looking, everyone can hit a wall of frustration, loss of focus, and
even resignation during a prolonged job search.

If you've suffered a few setbacks (you were one of two final candidates,
or at the end of the process they decided not to fill the position due
to budget, etc.) it can be hard to keep at it with all of the energy,
enthusiasm, and zest necessary to come across as a great candidate. If
you're living this reality, I'd like to offer some ways to help you
recharge, stay focused, and get that job.

Letting go of rejection

First of all, please stop beating yourself up. Sometimes there are
obvious reasons why we don't get a job (wrong skill set, experience,
culture fit), and other times we'll just never know why. Yes, it's
frustrating. But when we continually focus on what didn't work and hit
replay over and over, it literally sucks emotional and creative energy
from us that we could be using to think about the next opportunity.

Did you make a misstep during the interview or feel like you didn't
successfully convey the things you feel make you stand out? By all
means, learn from the experience and keep practicing. But remember,
focus on practicing for the next opportunity, not dwelling on the past
one.

Routines and rituals

Set a time-frame for job search efforts each day. If possible, try
sticking to the same time-frame every day. For example, you are actively
working on your job search from 9:00 to 12:00 each day. When you have a
start and a finish, you'd be amazed how efficient you are.

The ideal work/rest ratio is 90 to 120 minutes to power away on
something and then take a short break. Why? When we restore ourselves
with either a drink of water, healthy snack, a quick walk, or some deep
breathing, we recharge and are able to improve our focus and clarity for
our next time chunk.

I'm a big fan of time-chunks, because when we spend entire days on the
same task, our productivity slowly diminishes over time, making us less
efficient. We also become tired, unfocused and are often listless by the
end of the day. Which brings me to...

The power of exercise, networking, and socializing

A job search can seem like a marathon, so let's take that analogy and
extend it to the physical realm. If you're not taking care of yourself,
you will burn out on all levels. Not just physically, but mentally as
well. Exercise is great for getting and staying fit, but the effects of a
workout also supercharge our brains and make us feel more energetic and
happier. Endorphins are a good thing. If gyms are not high on your
priority list, try other forms of movement like martial arts, yoga, or
dance. Or just take a walk.

Often, we can isolate ourselves when looking for a job. We feel like we
need to be searching constantly, which can sometimes mean being
surgically attached to our computers and smart phones. Remember how each
day you set a time frame on your job search efforts? That means that
you have time to get out, network, and socialize. Maybe this means
having a cup of coffee with someone in a field you're interested in,
taking a class, or volunteering. Yes, you could potentially meet someone
who might be able to help with your job efforts, but on a deeper level
you will be recharging yourself, which ultimately means more energy for
your mind, body--and job search.

You should totally follow your dreams, but...

When deciding on a college major, students are encouraged to think about a few things: what they love to do; what they want to do; what jobs they imagine themselves in; and what the earning and growth potential is like for those careers.

For instance, they would probably want to know ahead of time that human services majors see their annual pay increase by only about $7,500, or 22%, over the first 10 years of their careers, compared with the average American worker, whose salary grows by about $25,000, or 60%, in that time.

That's according to Payscale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database with more than 40 million salary profiles. It recently looked at the difference between starting (less than five years of experience) and mid-career (10 or more years of experience) pay by college major, and it determined the 13 majors with the smallest salary growth.

"We're not trying to discourage students from pursuing these majors - we're simply offering information so that students can make informed choices and get the most out of their degree, whatever major they choose," says Kayla Hill, a research analyst at Payscale.

Among the majors, child development has the lowest starting salary ($32,200) and mid-career pay ($36,400) while showing the least amount of growth in the first 10 years ($4,200, or 13%).

"Human support service majors tend to be paid less across the board," Hill says. "Child development workers in particular may see less growth over time because it is a field that tends to be undervalued by society. Additionally, childcare workers may not have the same opportunities for advancement as more technical jobs, where learning new skills can lead to a pay bump or promotion."

Human services majors had the second-lowest salary growth between starting and mid-career, while early childhood and elementary education had the third-smallest.

"People in support service jobs tend to find a high level of meaning from their jobs despite the lower pay," Hill says. "For many of these workers, the satisfaction and fulfillment they receive from helping others outweighs the lack of pay growth."

13. Theology

1/13

Common job: Chaplain

Starting median pay: $36,800

Mid-career median pay: $51,600

Difference: $14,800 / 40%

12. Social Work

2/13

Common jobs: Mental health therapist; social worker; nonprofit program manager

Consultants rank high in annual survey

If you are in college (or have a child who is), it's time to start the
search for a summer 2015 internship. While some people might think seven
months is a bit too far in advance to start searching, they would be
wrong. Competition to get an internship in your desired industry, much
less company, is aggressive.

Internships act as a solid bridge between the academic and business
worlds. Good internships connect you with great contacts, experience and
a good working understanding of the industry. The best internships
provide you with tangible training, relationship-building events,
hands-on experience and career development seminars. Vault.com recently released their list of the Top 50 Internships for 2015.

Vault surveyed 5,800 interns at 100 different internship programs for their Internship Experience survey.
The survey was based on the following criteria: "quality of life,
compensation and benefits, interview process, career development, and
full-time employment prospects."

"Today, 40 percent of all entry-level full-time hires in the U.S. are
sourced through internship programs," according to Derek Loosvelt, a
senior editor at Vault.com. "This means that, for those looking to work
for the most desired and admired employers in the country, internships
are no longer a luxury but a necessity."

According to Loosvelt, the company has been studying, surveying and
ranking employers for quite some time. Mainly focusing on consulting,
law, banking and now expanding into consumer products, tech, energy,
media and entertainment. Why study the internship programs of these
industries?

"Internships have been growing in importance, as nearly half of all
entry-level full-time jobs at the top employers in the country are now
sourced through their internship programs. So we found it important to
give readers a better sense of the best internship programs out there,
and to give them information about what it's like to intern at top
employers as well as how to get these internships," says Loosvelt.
Loosvelt says Millennials are looking for jobs and careers that have meaning.

"Of course, prestige and salary are still important to Millennials, but I
don't think they're the most important factors by far (like I think
they were to, say, Generation X). I think Millennials want to make an impact.
They want to feel their work is meaningful (the definition of what's
meaningful varies, of course, from person to person)," says Loosvelt.
Some people might want to advance the tech field in Silicon Valley,
others might find their meaning in charity, while others are spreading
awareness via social media or through education.

"Millennials are very focused on career advancement and training,"
Loosvelt says. "They're attracted to positions in which they'll be able
to make difference right away-that is, being able to contribute to
their firm's success without much waiting/training period. And they want
to know that they'll be able to advance quickly if they succeed. They
shy away from strict advancement time periods. And I believe that
Millennials are also less fearful when it comes to changing careers and
entrepreneurship -- starting their own ventures. This might just be
because it's easier to start businesses these days; for example,
brick-and-mortar stores aren't necessary to begin because, in most
cases, all you need is a web domain and an idea; it doesn't take that
much money to get going."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Millennials will be
the majority of the workforce in 2015. Loosvelt agrees that more
companies (like the ones ranked in the study) are putting more time and
resources into their programs in order to attract top talent and retain
them.

There has been a major switch as companies have been putting a greater emphasis on training and development in internship programs.
"This is partly, I assume, because they realize it pays to do this. If
you treat your internship program like one long training period (and now
sometimes students will intern two and three summers with the same
firm), once your interns start full time with you, they're ready to
perform real work, not to mention they're apt to stay at your firm for a
lot longer period of time-that is, they'll be less apt to jump ship to
another firm just for the money since they have a stronger connection
(more loyalty) to you," says Loosvelt.

"Companies are increasingly offering better benefits and perks," he
adds, "as they understand that Millennials are interested in flexible
schedules (to raise families and/or engage in outside-of-work
activities) and in having a community feeling at work, which wasn't so
much the case with respect to past generations."

Is Employer Nepotism Illegal?

I get this question a lot. Can an employer favor a relative over you? Is nepotism illegal?

The simple answer is, no. Nepotism is not illegal. Your employer can
fire you to hire their son, daughter, nephew or second cousin twice
removed.

That being said, there are some circumstances where nepotism might be illegal:

Public Employer: While I don't know of any state
that has a law prohibiting nepotism in the private workplace, many laws
exist prohibiting nepotism at government entities.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: If your company does business overseas and hires relatives of an overseas public official, they may be violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Failure to Disclose: While nepotism isn't illegal
under federal securities laws, it is illegal not to disclose any
potential conflict of interest to shareholders. Failure to disclose
might violate Sarbanes-Oxley.

Race Or National Origin Discrimination: If the
company hires mostly relatives, they may be crossing the line into race
or national origin discrimination. If they are turning down better
qualified people of a different race or ethnicity, then hiring
relatives, they might get crosswise with Title VII or state
discrimination laws.

Marital Status Discrimination: If there's a
no-married-couples policy, some companies make the mistake of making the
woman leave when employees marry. Or maybe they just say the person of
lowest rank has to go. A policy like that might discriminate against
women.

Of course, many companies have policies prohibiting nepotism, or at
least prohibiting relatives from hiring, promoting, supervising or
firing relatives. If your boss violated that policy, then you might
think about reporting them to HR. Some companies even have anonymous
reporting lines that let you report violations of policy without giving
your name. If you do report a violation that isn't illegal, you probably
aren't legally protected against retaliation, so be very careful.

If you’re interested in an easy way to improve your job performance and boost your career, it’s time to start a writing habit. A study
from Harvard Business School tested whether taking 15 minutes at the
end of a work day to reflect on that day’s work improved their
performance and found the participants tasked with daily written
reflection did 22.8 percent better on an assessment than the control
group.

But wouldn’t internal reflection by itself be enough to bolster performance? “My
speculation would be that writing things down would be more beneficial
as the act of writing imposes a discipline on us to stay focused,” says
paper co-author Brad Staats, an associate professor of operations at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Reflection
forced people to process their days, find patterns and link actions.
Some people might think the experiment focused on the successes of the
day, but Staats says the parameters of the experiment when explained to
the journaling employees didn’t specify giving the reflections a
positive or negative slant.

“What
we wanted was for them to reflect more on whatever they thought was
most important from the day,” Staats explains. “The positive/negative
point is a great question, but not one we looked at here. In other
research, Francesca and I have explored how individuals struggle to
learn from failure, but when they accept internal responsibility for
their actions then they learn from failure.”

One
idea of why a writing habit helps is that thoughts running through your
mind about your day suddenly become significant and deliberate
catalysts for change through thinking them over and writing them down.
“Reflection on experience and learning facilitates deep processing,
which allows you to retain information for a long time — as opposed to
simply cramming it in your brain and promptly forgetting it after the
test,” says career coach George A. Boyd.

Despite
taking a portion of time out of the work day, essentially working less
than the control group, the new distribution of energy towards
reflection heavily impacted performance. Even Staats was surprised by
how much of a difference the exercise made.

“I
thought reflection might help a bit, but I didn’t expect it to make
such a meaningful impact on performance,” Staats said. “These people
weren’t spending extra time at work — they were spending 15 minutes less
on training each day so they could reflect, however by reallocating
their time in such a small way we see a significant, positive impact on
performance.”

Making
writing a habit could be a simple way to both gather your bearings and
be a better employee, but it is also a hard habit to adopt and keep
consistently. “In talking to people, one of the real challenges with
reflection is finding the discipline to maintain it,” Staats warns.
“That means people need to find ways to continue the practice — whether
that is blocking your calendar, finding an accountability partner who
might also reflect at the same time, or something else that works well
for you.”

Shannon Lee, OnlineDegrees.com
Gone are the days when office etiquette was clearly defined. In
today's relaxed professional environment, conduct is more casual, which
means it's often difficult to know what is OK and what isn't.
Fortunately, some rules of workplace etiquette are universal.
These 12 tips can help you adjust to a new office or clean up your behavior in a place you've worked for years.1. Avoid social media. Unless your job requires you
to peruse social networking sites all day, avoid them while you're on
the clock. Though surfing Facebook or Twitter might be tempting, it can
be detrimental to your work performance and productivity, not to mention
the way your boss perceives your enthusiasm -- or lack thereof -- for
your job.2. Take that phone call elsewhere. Everyone has a
cellphone these days, so getting personal calls at work is pretty much
unavoidable. But don't assume that just because your phone rings, it's
OK to take it right there at your desk. If you get a personal call,
excuse yourself and answer it in private. The last thing you want to do is air your personal business.3. Gossip: The big no-no. Who hasn't been tempted to
speculate on the lives of their co-workers? It's especially tempting
when everyone else in the office is doing it. But remember that gossip
says more about you than it does about the person you're discussing.
Don't talk about others, and keep your personal life private to
discourage water-cooler talk about you.4. Keep emails formal. Email seems pretty casual,
doesn't it? It isn't like correspondence on letterhead that requires
careful composition and proofreading -- right? Contrary to popular
belief, work emails should be held to the same formal standards
that you would hold any other office correspondence. So toss the slang,
get the punctuation right and proofread before you hit send.5. Watch your language. No matter how comfortable you are with your co-workers, or how casual your office may seem, blurting out a curse word
can get you noticed for all the wrong reasons. You don't want that
accidental f-bomb to overshadow your work, so keep the language clean.6. Stay tuned in to the world around you. Want to
plug in your headphones and jam while you finish that report? Go ahead
(if your office allows it), but don't make them a constant fixture on
your head. In the workplace, having headphones on all day can come off
as antisocial. Need to focus on a project? Sneak away to a conference
room for a while.7. Knock before entering. Sometimes an informal
office atmosphere can go too far. That's especially true when people
start drifting from one cubicle or office to the next, without bothering
to knock or otherwise announce their presence. Treat others as though
they are in the midst of serious business -- even if they aren't -- and
knock before you enter their personal space.8. Stay home if you're sick. It seems like an
obvious rule, but when you're stuck in the rat race, dropping out for a
few days of the flu can seem detrimental to your career. However, going
to work sick does more harm than good. Not only does it make you feel
worse and potentially spread your germs to others, when you're under the
weather your productivity most likely suffers. Make life easier on
everyone and use those sick days.9. Remember that scents travel. Do you have an allergy to perfume or cologne? Do you get a headache when you smell spicy food? Some of your colleagues might. Keep those potent lunches away from your desk, and don't overdo it on the fragrances. Those around you will be grateful.10. Dress like the rest. There are many places where
expressing your unique style is a fantastic thing to do. The office is
not one of them. To make sure you're dressing the part, use your boss's
attire as an example. If you want to appeal to management, dress just a
notch above the office norm.11. Save the job search for home. Looking for a new
job? Don't do it on company time. Not only might someone get wind of
your search (and feed that information into the gossip mill), but taking
time away from your current employer to look for a new one is just
plain rude.12. Remember that everyone has a life. Show respect
for everyone's down-time by avoiding late-night emails, phone calls or
anything else that might require someone from the office to respond
after hours. Save those for the next business day. Leaving the office
behind when you walk out the door is important for everyone -- so honor
business hours, but make sure you honor your time off, too.

Whether you're in a high-stress office or a relaxed small business,
etiquette matters. Brush up on it now to continue making a great
impression on your boss, co-workers and clients.

For the more
than two million high school seniors who intend to go to college next
year, the stomach-churning slog of filling out applications is in full
swing.

And whether they'll
get a thick package announcing their admission or a thin, dream-dashing
one-page letter (or their online equivalent) may well depend on their
grade-point average. Grades account for about 75% of the typical admissions decision, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

But
not all good grades are created equal. In the eyes of the admissions
officers at the nation's more than 2,800 four-year colleges, an "A"
earned at one high school may only be worth a "B" at a more rigorous
one. And in recent years, colleges have given more weight to grades from
designated college-prep courses — and the more exclusive the college,
the more weight those grades get.

One reason colleges are getting choosier: Grade inflation. Research by the College Board,
the organization that administers the SAT, shows that the average GPA
for high school seniors rose from 2.64 in 1996 to 2.90 in 2006 — even
as SAT scores remained essentially flat.

The
researchers saw this as evidence that some teachers were "using
grades... to reward good efforts rather than achievement." (The
College Board also noted that, based on their test scores, less than
half of SAT takers — just 43% in the graduating class of 2013—were
academically prepared for college work.)

All
that said, admissions officers generally believe that if you have a
good GPA in high school, you'll probably have a good GPA in college.

"The
clear message (is that) hard work and good grades in high school
matter, and they matter a lot," said William Hiss, a retired dean of
admissions at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine who co-wrote a February
2014 study on standardized testing.

2. We don't trust your essay

Many
colleges rely on a student's application essay to create a fuller
picture of the applicant. But in an era of helicopter parenting,
colleges increasingly worry that these essays aren't written by the
student.

To combat the possibility that parents, siblings or
school counselors may be ghostwriting essays, many colleges require an
additional piece of school writing that has been graded by a teacher.
"If the application essay looks like it was written by Maya Angelou
and the school work looks like Willy Loman's, it will raise some
eyebrows," Hiss said.
At some schools, application essays have
also been caught up in the debate over whether a student's race,
ethnicity or gender should be a factor in the college's admissions
decision. At some public universities where race and gender preferences
are banned, admissions officers are encouraged to give less weight to
the essay because it can give away clues about the race and gender of
the applicant.3. We're having second thoughts about the SAT
For
decades, the SAT has been considered the primary benchmark for
students' ability to handle college-level work. This year, more than 7
million students will take entrance exams like the SAT or ACT this year
for college admission.
But at more schools, skepticism about the
test is affecting admissions policy: About 800 out of the country's
2,800 four-year colleges now make the SAT optional.

.

Critics
have long argued that the weight given to SAT scores gives an unfair
advantage to wealthier students who can afford test-prep classes. That
in itself makes the SAT suspect in some admissions officer's eyes.
"It's leading to an increasing divide in this country of those who can
afford it and those who can't," says Steven Syverson, the former dean
of admissions at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

There are also growing doubts over how well the SAT predicts college performance. A study
produced this year and endorsed by the NACAC looked at the performance
of 123,000 students admitted to college between 2003 and 2010, about 30%
of whom hadn't taken the SAT or its counterpart, the ACT. The study
found no significant differences in college GPAs or graduation rates
between those who took either test and those who didn't.

Syverson
says many admissions officers are looking forward to the rollout in
2016 of a new SAT that is designed to better reflect typical high-school
curricula.

Many admissions
officers are now giving more weight to Advanced Placement tests, which,
like the SAT, are administered by the College Board. In 2013, 2.2
million students took AP tests, up 6% from a year earlier and more than
double the number a decade earlier. AP tests essentially reflect a test
taker's mastery of college-level skill and knowledge; successful test
takers often can skip some entry-level college courses, and some scores
can count toward a major.

"Most deans feel pretty good about AP results since they are based on more of a tight curriculum," Hiss said.4. Obsessing over class ranking? That's adorable
In
1993, more than 40% of admissions counselors viewed class rank as
"considerably important," according to the NACAC. By 2006, that figure
had declined to under 20%.
Hiss notes that in a small class of
100 students, being outside the top 10% doesn't mean that you're not
capable of doing college-level work. "Is the fourteenth-ranked
student in that class still a good college prospect? The answer is
probably yes."

Where rank
still comes in to play is at larger colleges, where "holistic"
reviews of applicants aren't possible. But at smaller, more selective
schools, the interview, essays and teacher and counselor recommendations get greater weight than rank, the NACAC says.

5. It pays to make nice with your teacher
As
skepticism grows over GPAs and test scores, some admissions officers
are giving more weight to recommendations from high-school teachers and
counselors.
Angel Perez, dean of admissions for Pitzer College in
Claremont, Calif., says the most useful recommendations show that the
student is intellectually curious and contributes to class discussions.
"We also ask 'How does the student respond to setbacks, how does the
student interact in teams?'" Perez says.6. We only sound exclusive

There
are only about 100 U.S. colleges offered admission to less than a third
of their applicants in 2013, according to the U.S. News & World
Report. But a low admissions rate can help a college look "exclusive" —
improving its scores in national college-rankings — and admissions
officers say that some colleges try to finesse that rate.

"Right,
wrong, or indifferent, our culture values exclusivity," said Perry
Robinson, vice president and director of admissions at Denison
University in Columbus, Ohio. "And yet it is one of the easiest
figures to manipulate."
Tim Groseclose, a professor at George
Mason University who formerly served as a faculty adviser to the
admissions committee at the University of California at Los Angeles,
says some schools deliberately try to play with the numbers by getting
more high school applicants to apply, even if they aren't planning on
attending. And Syverson, the former Lawrence admissions, says that
colleges sometimes count incomplete packages as complete ones, the
better to increase their applications-to-acceptances ratio.

Groseclose
says that sometimes competitive schools encourage students with unique
talents to apply even if their grades and test scores may not be among
the best. And at times, he notes, that can work in the student's
favor: "I know of one school that admitted a student because they
happened to be the stateâs horseshoe-pitching champion."

Does
that mean Tom Cruise's character in "Risky Business" really had a
shot at getting in to Princeton? "Sometimes it can be like hitting the
lottery," Groseclose says.7. Politics may determine whether you get in
The
role of race and ethnicity has been a polarizing issue in admissions.
The NACAC says that about one third of colleges and universities
consider an applicant's race as a factor.

At
some public universities, racial admissions preferences have been
banned by state law, though critics have accused some schools of working
around those bans. In California, racial preferences were banned by
state referendum in the 1990s. But Groseclose has argued that UCLA got
around that ban during the years when he worked with the admissions
committee by implementing a "holistic" evaluation system that let
admissions officers consider race. (UCLA has denied the "holistic"
review process was an end-around the racial preferences ban.)

One
practice that's generally legal: "Legacy" admissions, where
children of alumni and wealthy donors — or of powerful lawmakers who
have a say in public university funding — get special consideration in
the application process. "If it were up to me, I would make legacy
admissions illegal in both public and private universities, especially
if those schools took a dime of public funding," says Groseclose.8. We'd rather admit someone who can pay full price
According
to the College Board, 10% of college freshmen in 2013 were foreign
students. One reason colleges woo these international scholars: Many are
wealthy enough to pay the full price of tuition.

At
publicly funded state universities, higher tuition for out-of-state
students often helps subsidize education for state residents. For
example, for an undergraduate at the University of California at
Berkeley, in-state tuition is about $13,000 a year; for an out-of-state
or foreign student, tuition is about $36,000 a year.

"Many
universities look to international students as a panacea to their
financial ills," says Robinson, the Denison admissions dean. "They
are admitting the out-of-state residents because they are a cash cow, a
revenue stream for them," Robinson said. In some states, this has led to
battles among legislators and alumni over whether the number of foreign
and out-of-state students should be capped.
The foreign-student
pipeline can also have pitfalls, says Perez of Pitzer. In some
countries, some students pay big money to sometimes unscrupulous
"agents" to help them gain entry to prestigious U.S. schools. "You
can interview a student for a freshman class and find out the student
who shows up in the fall is completely different, because they hired
someone to do the interview for them," he said. "I didn't get into
admissions to become a police officer, but that's what the job
requires now."9. We need you more than you need us

After
15 years of steady growth, the number of U.S. high school graduates
leveled off this year at 3.2 million; it's expected to stay at that
level until 2020 before starting to rise again, according to the Western
Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

That means more
colleges will be chasing after fewer students. "The public believes
that it's so hard to get into college, but the reality is that most
colleges are scrambling to find applicants to fill out freshman
classes," says Syverson.
As a result, students who get into more
than one school may be able to do some horse-trading on tuition, notes
Matthew Pittinsky, the CEO of Parchment.com, an online
college-admissions credentials-management website. "It's just like
going to the dealer and negotiating a better rate for your new car,"
he says.10. Just because you get admitted doesn't mean you'll stay admitted
About
22% of colleges revoked at least one offer of admission in 2009 (the
most recent year studied), according to the NACAC. The most commonly
cited reasons were senioritis-impacted final grades (65%), disciplinary
issues (35%) and falsification of application information (29%).

But in recent years, student postings on social media
have increasingly prompted colleges to take a second look at their some
admission offers. Perez of Pitzer recalls an incident in which a
student the college had decided to admit was found to be harassing a
high-school teacher on Facebook. "It was a difficult situation, but I
pulled the admissions letter before it was printed," Perez says. "I
got hateful tweets, but we are in an uber-selective environment. We just
can't take the chance."

"The
bottom line is that the schools are trying to protect themselves,"
Robinson said. "What they see electronically is not always what they
see on paper."

Information technology jobs are growing as more
companies rely on technology for daily business and find that they need
employees to help manage, develop, and implement software, hardware, and
web designs. Tech jobs range from working with or developing software,
to designing websites, to ensuring a company's data remains secure, and
much more. It's a field where workers are in demand and companies are
eager to fill any number of tech jobs. Here are five in-demand tech jobs
that are slated to grow at a faster rate than other industries.

Software Developer - $64,668
Software developers are in high demand as more companies rely on
technology and proprietary software. Developers are the brains behind
the design and creation of computer programs and are also responsible
for creating the systems and networks to run devices as well as creating
specific applications. It’s a job that requires you to understand the
needs of users and then design a program to suit those needs. Most
software developers will create diagrams and documentation that will
allow programmers to write the code to make the program run. As a
software developer, you will need oversee the creation of software and
then test the software before implementing it to ensure it will run
smoothly for the end user. Your job won’t end there, however, as you
will need to ensure that programs continue to run smoothly and perform
any maintenance on software down the line. As a software developer, you
will need to work closely with people (especially programmers)
throughout the entire process as your software vision comes to life.
In order to become a software developer you will need a bachelor’s
degree in computer science, software engineering, or mathematics. During
your education, you will want to focus on software development skills
to build your resume. A master’s degree isn't necessary, but it will
help you chances at getting a higher-level job and can open up more
doors, and there are some jobs that might require an applicant with a
master's degree. It’s also important to keep in mind what industry you
want to work in, to ensure you have the appropriate skills to design
software for that niche.
Software developer is a fast growing position, with the BLS
predicting that it will grow 22 percent by 2022, which is much faster
than most other industries. The BLS also states that application
developer jobs are expected to grow 23 percent, while system developer
jobs will grow by 20 percent. The average salary for a software
developer is $65,668, according to PayScale, with a reported salary range of $43,141 to $101,384 per year. Check out openings on Monster to find software developer jobs in your area.

Business Analyst - $64,888
A business analyst is tasked with identifying possible risks with new
projects and then communicating those to the appropriate people. They
may also be responsible for managing and creating project plans to
develop and test new technology. IT business analyst was rated #43 on a
list of the top 100 careers in America, according to CNN.
It received B ratings for flexibility and low stress, which indicates
that for the most part, business analysts don’t experience high stress
in their jobs and have some control over their schedule. Business
analysts work to help companies improve their business models by
recommending solutions to companies to help them better their
structures, policies, and overall operations. According to the International Institute of Business Analysis
(IIBA), the role of a business analyst is to act as "a liaison among
stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and
operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable
the organizatio to achieve its goals."
To become a business analyst you will need at least a bachelor’s
degree in computer science with some business courses or a degree in
management information systems. Since it is a job that combines both
information technology and business, you will want to have a good grasp
on both industries. Some high level business analyst jobs might require
applicants to hold a masters in business administration with a
concentration in information systems, but it depends on the job. As a
business analyst, you will want to keep up with the latest in the tech
industry so you are always on top of new software, procedures, and
trends in the market.
This in demand position is growing at a rate faster than most industries, with the BLS predicting it will grow 25 percent by 2022. The average annual salary for a business analyst is $63,888, according to PayScale, with a reported salary range of $44,640 to $99,639 per year. Check out openings on Monster to find business analyst jobs in your area.

Database Administrator - $68,592
Database administrator is another in demand IT position that involves
the installation, configuration, upgrading, and maintenance of
databases for a company. DBAs are also responsible for ensuring the
security of databases as well as developing and designing database
strategies for a company. Duties will also include installing and
upgrading the servers and tools for the database, ensuring all systems
are compliant with vendor license agreements, optimizing database
performance, backing up the database, archiving information, and more.
You will need a strong knowledge of database theory, database design,
structured query language (SQL), storage technologies, memory
management, operating systems, and more. US News and World Report rated database administrator as number 12 on it’s list of Best Jobs in America for 2014.
To become a database administrator you will need at least a
bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or
engineering. You may want to get your master’s degree to improve your
job opportunities or certifications such as the IBM certification in
Database Administration.
Database administrator jobs are predicted to grow 15 percent by 2022, according to the BLS, which is faster than most other industries. The average annual salary for a database administrator is $68,592, according to PayScale, with a reported salary range of $39,874 to $102,602 per year. Check out openings on Monster to find database administrator jobs in your area.

Information Security Analyst - $69,549
Security is a hot IT skill right now, especially considering the
publicity that security breaches have been getting in the news.
Companies want to ensure their data and customer data is safe, so they
are hiring people, rather than employing software to get the job done.
Having security skills can help you move up from a position to
information technology to cyber security if you tailor your resume the
right way. As an information security analyst, you will need to keep on
top of all the latest in security, and always be one step ahead of
hackers. You will be responsible for monitoring a business’ networks to
spot security breaches and look into any suspicious activity. You will
need to find the best software to protect the business’ data, ensure
that the company has strong data encryption in place, keep people up to
date on the status of security measures, and test the systems you
implement. It’s a job that is rising as more companies rely on
technology for their daily business. The more technology a company
relies on, the more avenues that are opened up for security breaches.
According to US News and World Report, information security analyst is the fourth best tech job in America for 2014.
To become an information security analyst you will need a bachelor’s
degree in computer science or programming. You will also want to get a
master’s degree in business information in information systems, since
security jobs are generally high-level positions. Schools are starting
to introduce security programs into their IT degrees to respond to the
growing demand for security professionals. You can better your chances
of getting a job in cyber security by getting experience in information
technology and tailoring your resume to have skills in security.
Information security analyst jobs are predicted to grow 37 percent by 2022, according to the BLS, which makes it the fastest growing job on this list. The average annual salary for information security analysts is $68,549, according to PayScale, with a reported salary range of $45,275 to $103,207. Check out openings on Monster to find information security analyst jobs in your area.

Web Developer - $53,036
Web developer is a popular in-demand tech job that entails the
development and creation of websites. As a web developer you will work
closely with clients, or with your company, to develop and implement a
website according to their vision. Responsibilities include debugging
applications, creating applications, writing code, working with graphic
designers to develop the layout, working with graphics, video, and
audio, and monitoring traffic to the site. You will need a strong
background in programming languages as well as HTML and XML. Web
developer is ranked as number three on the list of best technology jobs
by US News and World Report for 2014.
The education for a web developer relies on the job posting, with
some jobs only requiring a high school degree, while others might want a
bachelor’s degree. You can get an associate’s degree in web design and
still have a number of jobs to apply to or you can freelance and take
jobs as they come. To work for a company, or as a web architect, you
will want at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or
programming.

The BLS
predicts that web developer jobs will grow 20 percent by 2022, which is
faster than most other industries. The average annual salary for a web
developer is $53,036, according to PayScale, with a reported salary range of $32,116 to $82,193 per year. Check out openings on Monster to find web developer jobs in your area.